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About Gouldian Finches (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

The Gouldian Finch, Erythrura gouldiae (or Chloebia gouldiae), also known as the Lady Gouldian Finch, Gould’s Finch or the Rainbow Finch, is a colorful passerine bird endemic to Australia. There is strong evidence of a continuing decline, even at the best-known site near Katherine in the Northern Territory. Large numbers are bred in captivity, particularly in Australia. In the state of South Australia, National Parks & Wildlife Department permit returns in the late 1990s showed that over 13,000 Gouldian Finches were being kept by aviculturists. If extrapolated to an Australia-wide figure this would result in a total of over 100,000 birds. In 1992, it was classified as “Endangered in the wild” under IUCN’s criteria C2ai. This was due to the fact that the viable population size was estimated to be less than 2,500 mature individuals, no permanent subpopulation was known to contain more than 250 mature individuals, and that a continuing decline was observed in the number of mature individuals. It is currently subject to a conservation program.

The Gouldian Finch was described by British ornithological artist John Gould in 1844 and named after his wife Elizabeth. It is also known in America as the Rainbow Finch, Gould’s Finch, or the Lady Gouldian Finch (although Mrs. Gould did not hold the title Lady). In Australia, it is predominantly called the Gouldian Finch. It is a member of the weaver-finch family Estrildidae, which is sometimes considered a subfamily of Passeridae.